Our Favourite Photos From the 2018 Australian Ski Season… So Far – Part II
September 5th, 2018
Australian terrain is unique. From snow gums to towering boulders at the top of Mt Kosciuszko, there’s no shortage of photogenic features. Throw a little fresh snow in there and the possibilities are endless. Image:: Aedan O’Donnell/Thredbo
Mountainwatch | Matt Wiseman
As the headline suggests, this is the follow up to our first photo journaldocumenting the epicness of the 2018 ski season thus far. We were inundated with so many quality images we simply could not leave them unseen…
We said in part 1 that we, “wouldn’t be surprised if subsequent readings up at Spencers Creek showed the 2018 season nudging last years peak depth of 240.9cm recorded on September 20.”
Lo and behold, we got pretty darn close, with this year’s peak depth likely recorded at Spencer’s Creek on the 22nd of August, at a very respectable 224.6cm.
Reggae put it well when he said, in his guide to finding pow in Oz; “It gets epic in Australia. Don’t believe anyone who tells you otherwise. But skiing pow at home isn’t that easy either. There’s an art to it – it takes timing, mountain knowledge, strategy, and a whole lot of gratitude.”
Such traits are clearly discernable in the riders and photographers featured below. Throw in a little luck, a nice and neutral El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), a southern annular model (SAM) that‘s plummeted into negative values and some relative proximity to the hill and you end up with a catalogue of shots that could be confused with Japan or British Columbia, yet remain iconically Australian.
Without further ado, here are 25 more of our favourites…
Teamwork makes the dream work… A little mini golf at the top of Thredbo. Image:: Aedan O’Donnell/Thredbo Resort
Torah Bright and an early morning groomer, let’s not forget how good fresh cord can be! Image:: Aedan O’Donnell/Thredbo Resort
Textbook bluebird atop Thredbo with Dan Heckticburg and Phil Lahey. Image:: Boen Ferguson/Thredbo Resort
Timmy Windshuttle busting out of the white room. Image:: Boen Ferguson/Thredbo Resort
Joss McAlpin turning and burning at Perisher on August 19. Image:: Perisher
Plenty of windblown slashes to be had. Image:: Perisher
And a forehand slash for good measure. Image:: Perisher
Snorkels optional but recommended this August. Coen Bennie-Faull getting submerged. Image:: Dylan Robinson/Hotham Guest Photographer
You’d be forgiven for thinking this was Japan… Image:: Dylan Robinson/Hotham Guest Photographer
Hotham side country has been putting on a show all season long. Image:: Dylan Robinson/Hotham Guest Photographer
How’s the serenity… Jason Anderson at Mount Hotham. Image:: Dylan Robinson/Hotham Guest Photographer
Coen Bennie-Faull has been getting plenty of turns in this season and most have looked something like this… Image:: Dylan Robinson/Hotham Guest Photographer
Whiteout for skier Billy Lloyd-Blainey. Image:: Dylan Robinson/Hotham Guest Photographer
Drew Jolowicz setting a sunrise skin track at Hotham. Image:: Finnegan Laver/Hotham
Drew Jolowicz reaping the rewards of his hard work, a few minutes after the prior image where he was earning these turns. Image:: Finnegan Laver/Hotham
Jacob Lttensohn above the clouds at Hotham. Image:: Finnegan Laver/Hotham
Drew Jolowicz again making turns in front of a snowed-in Hotham. Image:: Finnegan Laver/Hotham
Snowboarder Carter Mills dropping bombs. Image:: Finnegan Laver/Hotham
Japan is that you? Melanie McCoy entering trench town. Image:: Finnegan Laver/Hotham
Alex Chumpy Pullin busting his way out of the white room at Hotham. Image:: Finnegan Laver/Hotham
Tom Costa ripping some stark, low vis turns up at Falls Creek. Image:: Danii Forde
Certainly some of the lightest, blower pow Australia’s seen in years. This image of Coen entering trenchtown at Mt Buller blew us away the first time we saw it… Still does if we’re honest! Image:: Tony Harrington
Coen hooking into some more Mt Buller sidecountry, August 19. Image:: Tony Harrington
Tele skier Jock Gunn with a nice slash down into some unchartered Buller territory. Image:: Tony Harrington
